Beautiful Things
by Chaos herself
Summary: Waking up at an unknown place being in pain, haunted by nightmares, driven into isolation by an unwelcoming surrounding, not knowing what had happened - how does it good to unexpectedly find a true friend out there! Alfred & Gilbert friendship AU
1. Chapter 1

_Chaos herself's note:_

_With the optimistic attitude of making up for the past two years keeping up my spirits, I started off with putting some emphasis on the topic of friendship: _

_so if you find yourself drowning in a deep well of troubles with an alienate, unfriendly and ignorant surrounding and you risk of suffocating from isolation, what is more precious than an unexpected friend suddenly reaching out to you? In this AU, Alfred is faced with the very situation. Let's see, how it'll turn out in later chapters...:-)_

_Enjoy,_

_Chaos_

_..._

_Annotation (03/13/'11): Hopefully, the formating problem is finally fixed. I'm really sorry for that! I still don't know why this is happening...  
_

_..._

_Disclaimer: I do not own the appearing characters of 'Axis Powers Hetalia'._

...

**Beautiful Things**

03/'11, by Chaos

When he woke up, at first he was feeling dizzy and disoriented. His head was still lulled the in numbness of dull pain, his mind wrapped in clouds of white. It was hard keeping his eyes open, when everything around him was blurred into big blobs without contour, spinning in his head.

Warily he wondered where his glasses had gone, but he couldn't make himself move and look for them. There was too much exhaustion and headache that kept him from concentrating, but slowly he became aware of other places of his body, that felt strange and in pain. Gazing unfocusedly at what he guessed was the ceiling - which was not at all painted in dark blue and covered with large sparkling white stars that had glow-in-the-dark-effect as it should have been - he wondered then where he was and tried to remember what had happened to him. For this was definitely not his room.

However, he had no clue.

With a deep breath that tightened his chest in a light stinging knot he gave in to the heaviness of his eyelids and shut the blurry surrounding away again, before the headache got even worse. Also his mouth was dry and his throat felt raspy, but most of all he needed more sleep. Sleep, until everything made sense again.

Until he woke up, just to see, he only had been dreaming and the world greeted him hello sunshine…

.-._.-._.-._.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chaos herself's note:_

_Seems, everything works out quite smoothly for me so far. Here we go with chapter two already... :)_

_..._

Yet, his hopes did not meet reality.

The next time he woke up, he was still there lying in this strange bed, looking at that strange white ceiling without contour of a strange silent room. The dull pain was still there and he didn't feel refreshed at all after this nap – or rather deep sleep. He felt exhausted as if he had tasted death and just fought back to life, but the only heroic thing he had done so far was clumsily reaching out his hand and trying blindly to get a hold of his glasses.

He failed.

He didn't even know, if they were anywhere within reach at all. So he lay there waiting, listening into the silence of this boring white room, blinking hard against the blur of his sight that caused more dizziness. Somewhere behind the walls there were hushed quick footsteps, sometimes dull but unnerving beeps or muffled rattling sounds. So there were people out there. But who might it be?

Curiously he turned his head to the side, where the noise came from. Anticipating for some attention to his person he was waiting...and waiting. He had never liked waiting: time seemed to be rushing like sleeping snails then. Nobody came to see him, nobody was noticing him lying there behind closed doors – there had to be doors somewhere! – waiting for anybody to tell him, what had happened to him and where he was, anybody treating his pain if he wasn't able to move himself.

The combination of pain and lack of attention made him feel more and more uneasy. Why didn't anybody come to see him, greet him, make sure he was alright, which he wasn't? He then got a little impatient, started shifting and fidgeting in his bed and it didn't do him any good. The pain in his back and legs got worse. The sharp stinging made him want to shout, tears shot to his eyes – but he never dared to cry, even if he was all by himself now! He, of all people! So he bravely held them back, biting his lower lip and coping with the slightly dwelling panic in his stomach that came along with the sudden intense pain.

For he couldn't move, he couldn't see properly, he didn't know his whereabouts and was left alone. It was hard admitting it, but he felt sort of helpless right now.

His heart was pounding heavily in his clamped chest and his hands were shaking as he powerlessly clutched the blankets more tightly. Gasping for air, he wasn't aware he had been holding for too long, he tried to make some noise, so that someone would already notice him! But no sound left his raspy dry throat.

He put that aside, for his voice might have been hoarse from thirst. So he licked his lips and tried once more, more forceful this time, as if he wanted to shout to the whole world: 'Hello, here I am. Look at me.' Again, his cry couldn't break the silence within that room. Also, the next try was a failure: he was speechless, couldn't make a sound, his voice was gone.

The shock caused by this discovery opened the doors for a flood of panic, he had hardly kept under control until then. Mute. He was shaking hard now and the pain altogether seemed unbearable.

How he wished he was still dreaming!

.-._.-._.-._.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chaos herself's note:_

_So, here we go with chapter 3... Wow, Alfred gets more and more depressive, and still no Gilbert to cheer him up. But he'll show up soon, promise. ^^_

_..._

How much time had passed after that incident, he didn't know. His mind had been clouded in despair since, so he hardly noticed that someone finally had barged in twice to look after him. They swiftly checked him up, washed him, fed him, laid him back again and left. They said something about his health, the condition he was in, short indifferent words, but he didn't listen: his thoughts were caught elsewhere, circling around this one fact, he wanted to deny so badly but couldn't. He was mute.

Mute!

How could that have happened to someone who had so many things to say like him – to someone to who talking was like breathing? It was like McDonald's without hamburgers or flying into space without rockets: it was worse than any nightmare, hell could not have been more horrible to him.

At least, he got his glasses back. And the painkillers seemed to kick in, for his aching head and body slowly became a bit numb. The pain was still there and he still couldn't move, but that he could bear. What he couldn't stand was being unable to communicate. He felt isolated, left behind and unnoticed. He liked his voice, he liked talking to people, he needed his voice to be appreciated, he needed his voice to gain attention with… Or else the silence would be suffocating him, it would make him feel so very lonely.

And lonely he was now.

This white room was too spacey, too sterile, too uncomfortable. By now he knew, he was in hospital. Since he was wearing his glasses and the door was left open, he saw the nurses and doctors hasten through the floor, he watched injured people being rushed to Ops - he saw the world turning without him, so it seemed.

Still, he had no clue, what got him here, what had happened to him or how long he would have to stay. He had even more questions, if only there was a face he recognized. Even so, there was no way, he could possibly express himself to anyone now. He couldn't get anyone's attention, if they just passed by not even taking a look in his direction. He was mute…

Swallowing hard and scratchily, his throat felt thick and numb like a knot of old and filthy cloth. Heat was dwelling inside as if hot steam was pushing in vain against the lid of a rusty pressure cooker. He was imagining that, but this was just like he felt: there was so much inside him – thoughts and feelings -, that wanted to force their way out of the prison that was his body, but everything was stuck. The sound fainted unheard in his throat, the words died unspoken in his mouth.

He was mute. It took him so long to finally realize it, but as he did, he suddenly was able to cry silent and desperately lonely hot tears. If only anyone came to visit and noticed it to soothe his pain!

.-._.-._.-._.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chaos herself's note:_

_Ta-dah! :D I didn't fall short on my pledge, did I?_

_..._

Isolation and loneliness made themselves comfortable in his blank room, as his voice didn't come back and he was still bedridden. Both were drenching most of the remaining energy out of his pain shaken body and they exhausted him: he silently cried until he fell asleep, and when he later woke up from restless nightmares, he cried again…

He couldn't even remember clearly, what he had dreamt, but it didn't matter. The dark and frightening impressions nourished his frustration very well. Sobbing silently and sunk within his little world, which had narrowed to his sole person himself, he tried to crouch to one side as if he wanted some shelter. Only when the open door banged a little against the wall, he noticed there was more than just himself left. A cool breeze ran over his bare and sore back and he shivered. Soundlessly sneezing he blinked against the fresh tears on his cold cheeks.

That was the time, when he heard the whisper: "Hey, there! How's it going?"

Taking a faint look through his tear smeared glasses, he suddenly saw a face right in front of him. "Oi, don't you cry anymore. You're a man, aren't you? So, don't cry! Even if you're in pain, don't! There's only three reasons, why a proud man is allowed to cry: firstly when his home country has lost the war, secondly when the head of his government dies, or thirdly when his mother dies", grinned the pale man and looked him straight in the eye.

A slender hand reached to his forehead and ruffled through his blonde streaks. "So be brave now…" The somehow clumsy but comforting touch surprised him. Slightly curious he watched the intruder of his depressive vicious circle.

"Guess what! You're lucky, because the awesome me has decided to spend some time here with you to cheer you up. But don't you tell the nurse, that I came here, got it? That old hag only causes trouble", the young man continued still in hushed voice and his lively blood red eyes were brimming with good humour. He somehow gladly wanted to answer, then he remembered his handicap. So he just nodded.

"Awesome!", smirked the silver blonde man, crossed his arms on the bedside right before his bespectacled nose and laid his chin on top. "You know what? Your room is just too big for one person alone. That's so boring, when no one comes to visit you. If I was in your shoes, I'd leave this place right away and go have some fun with other patients like you… - oh, wait, that's exactly what I do! Ha! Aren't I awesome?", he announced and grinned proudly.

Still surprised by him, that man managed to make him smile a bit and a soundless chuckle made it through his lips. This seemed so unreal, yet it was a pleasant distraction from his loneliness. He wanted to say something, tell him- "That's it! This smile suits you better! Now, that we are comrades, keep quiet and make way. Quick! Before the old hag notices…", the silver blonde said, shove his unmoving body more to the other side of the bed and swiftly slid under the sheets next to him, before he even could think of any kind of protest. But he didn't really mind after all…

At least, there was someone paying attention to him.

"Shh! Don't say anything, or else we might get caught!", warned the whispering in his ear and the silver blonde hair disappeared beneath the blankets just in time, when a nurse barged in to exchange the transfusion with the painkillers and to check his pulse. Sensing the warm body pressing against his side, the other man's slow breath and the soft hair tickling on his bare skin, he got caught up in this game of 'hide-and-seek'. There was some thrill to it, which made his heart pound hard from excitement. Wouldn't she have discovered anything anytime now?

When having checked his pulse, he thought, he had to be given away by that stupid betrayer that was called his heart! And the shapes beneath his blankets just had to be suspicious, too, he figured. It was way too obvious…

But the nurse left without a single word: she didn't notice anything after all. He couldn't believe it.

A soft chuckle caused him to face the red eyed man again. "Ksehehe, we've so had that old hag, haven't we? We're just too awesome for her little brains, she didn't even notice, I was there…now, that was fun!", laughed the silver blonde as his head popped out from under the sheets, and he grinned in agreement.

He was surprised, but he did enjoy this little ever so simple game. He had fun, and it felt good to be distracted from his despair. It felt good not to be alone anymore. He wanted to tell his new acquaintance, but he couldn't. It was so very hard for him to be mute. Silently he stared at the face of the man beside him, hoped, he would still understand him in spite of his handicap.

Just when he started to get uneasy again due to silence, the other one spoke again. "I'm the awesome Gilbert", came finally the belated introduction. "You better remember that name, now that we've been conspiring!", he was pointed at. His reply was an assuring nod and a faint smile: surely, he wouldn't forget him so easily! Gilbert sat and grinned confidently.

"Well…got to go now! I'm starving. Going to get me something awesome for supper. You know, I'd kill for some German sausages and beer right now…", he told him and jumped right out of the bed. He couldn't even stop him, although he would have liked to spend more time with the silver blonde man. "I'll come again, comrade! Later", Gilbert winked and then left as quickly as he had appeared.

With a soundless sigh he leaned deeper into his cushion and closed his eyes. The happiness caused by the sudden visit ceased soon as loneliness crept into him again. He hoped, his new friend wouldn't take too long…

Until then he would try to get some rest.

.-._.-._.-._.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chaos herself's note:_

_Very short fifth chapter, I know. However, I hope you understand, this is just as important regarding the soryline, though._

_..._

The darkness long had swallowed him, as he was out of breath.

His lungs were burning, his feet ached and his body was heavy as lead, but he kept on running as if his life was depending on it. Someone – or even something? – was chasing him.

He sensed it coming from the shadows, without knowing what it was or where it was. He tried running faster, stumbled disoriented over his numb feet, fell on the wet asphalt, hurt, tasted blood and mud, got up, and ran further on his way to somewhere, nowhere.

He shouted, but no one answered. The darkness swallowed everything. There was no escape from what was lurking in the dark. He knew that unconsciously. But still he ran.

Out of the darkness, into the darkness.

Forget about the hero! Today he was no hero. He screamed. And he ran. He was mortified. Only fear made his body move.

When suddenly the thunderous pain struck him, he was caught and blinded like deer in the spotlight.

Everything went blank.

.-._.-._.-._.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chaos herself's note:_

_So, chapter six is full of nice sparkling little Alfred-Gilbert silly-...err, awesomeness. Hope you enjoy this! :3_

_..._

Gasping for air he opened his eyes wide in shock. His mouth wanted to erupt a wild and painful scream, but never made a sound.

Instead he barfed into a bowl, which was held beneath his chin. His shaking body fought in vain against the strange gloved hands that kept him down, which only brought fuel into his fire of blind angst. He was still powerless and the pain rushed in gushes through his veins. Again he let out a mute shout of helplessness. But he wouldn't cry anymore…

It was a dream again, he realized when calming down a bit - the same dream, which haunted him every time he fell asleep. The manhunt, the darkness, the fear-…those were only parts of his dream. But the pain, the pain was real!

He felt it now: in his back, in his legs and in his head. Gilbert was real, too. And he wanted to see him now, wanted to be soothed by the only person he knew in this lonely place. So where was he? His mouth opened to ask for his friend. But again the words slipped away on his tongue, when he remembered being mute.

He was gradually released by the nurses' resolute grip then, as from the corner of his eyes he saw, they were giving him a new dose of sedatives. Exhausted he let it happen – as if he could have done anything against it in his current state! With a silent huff he buried his head in the cushion and blinked motionless at the ceiling until everyone had left the room and silence settled down again. He felt like drowning in silence: the loneliness that came with it tied his chest in a tight suffocating knot.

He was so tired…but he didn't want to sleep and see that nightmare again: he had been alone then, too.

Nevertheless he closed his eyes - just to blink again some time later, as he was repeatedly poked into his cheek. Frowning he turned his head to face who was disturbing his doze. At once he felt a bit more at ease, when he heard that voice. "You know, it's not polite to sleep when I am blessing you with my awesome presence!", Gilbert greeted him with a scolding pout that soon turned into a wide grin.

"Unless you like to play 'sleeping beauty' waiting to be kissed awake by an awesome prince like me ", the red eyed smirked and made a smooching grimace. Softly and silent chuckling he shook his head. This man was priceless being able to change his mood so quickly! He felt like at least hugging him, if he couldn't tell him how awesome he indeed was.

"Alright! Let's have some fun: I've got an awesome plan what to do! And when I say awesome, I mean awesomely awesome…but you've got to be quiet. This mission is top secret!", the silver blonde proclaimed proudly with a conspiring wink. He nodded and leaned curiously closer. Gilbert bended down some more to whisper into his ear: "Listen: We are going to sneak out, then go to the park downstairs and throw water bombs through the open windows of the nurses' room. How about it?"

He stared blankly at the red eyed man, who was obviously bored to death to come up with such a funny plan…but it sounded like a heroic mission he could have plotted himself.

He felt the grin already spreading on his lips, when he remembered something: even if he wanted to, he couldn't leave the room. He wasn't even able to move his body out of this bed and go have a pee! Depressed again he shook his head: Gilbert would have to go alone and leave him here. "What? You don't want to? You're disappointing me, comrade: my awesome self has created this totally awesome plan especially for you to cheer you up, and yet you don't like it?", the silver blonde pouted sadly.

Swiftly he shook his head, took his strength to grab Gilbert's hand. How he wished he wasn't mute! Somehow he just had to make clear, how fantastic the plan was and how much he'd love to come along, but he wasn't used to depend on nonverbal communication only! However, all he could do was hope, that Gilbert would understand him even without words…

The red eyed man blinked. "So…you'd like to go?", he asked and got a hard nod as reply. "But you can't. Because you can't leave this bed, right?" Again he nodded – slower this time due to the sad feeling. "Aww. Too bad!", Gilbert exhaled, then ruffled again his hair like he did on the first time they met. "Don't get sad over this, comrade. Let's make another awesome plan! Move a bit", the silver blonde said, and placed himself comfortably onto the bed and next to him. "Ah, much better! Now, let's think this through together…How about a bet, who comes up with the most awesome idea first!", Gilbert grinned and received a quiet approval.

Silently he watched his 'co-conspirator', as they snuggled together and just relaxed. He was glad to have found a friend to stay with him, who would turn his isolated island into a comfy place and who would effortlessly shoo away every lurking lonely feeling with a smile and a stupidly genial plan to fool around and make him feel better. That was exactly what he needed right now.

And he was sure, every man needed that in order to endure the great hardships of life.

With a silent sigh he then concentrated on the plan in the making. Or at least, he tried to. It was a rare sensation that he was feeling a little bit at ease at this place, and communicating while being mute was hard and tiring work, plus he had to suppress the pain in his body all the time: consequently he caught himself more than once trailing off and rather leaning his leaden heavy head on the warm shoulder next to him than focussing on the subject.

But he still wanted to win that bet, no matter what!

So he just had to come up with some great idea! He knew, it was almost there…

"You know, it would be much more awesome, if you didn't need to walk at all. If at least you could fly away. …-just like my cute little Hyoko does. With its tiny fluffy yellow wings it can fly freely under that deep blue sky: this instant it can peck on the fields, the next moment it can play in the trees over there or take a nap on my head. That's something really awesome, my Hyoko. You've got to meet, next time", Gilbert suddenly broke the silence as his gaze flew over the park outside the window. He lost his current thought to listen to the whispered words the silver blonde said. Smiling he nodded. He wanted to meet that Hyoko, who Gilbert spoke of so fondly.

And flying in the sky sounded great!

To him, that endless blue sky meant true freedom. Needless to say, he wanted to attain that freedom. He knew by the look he received, the red eyed man understood and shared that wish. "The awesome me will take you there sometime, comrade. Promise!", Gilbert swore with a smile before he finally got up.

"But for now, I've got to take my leave. The old hag is on the watch again…and I hate injections. See you", he smirked and ran off just in time to evade his next check up and not to get caught by the nurse. He was still looking to where his friend had disappeared, when they already treated and washed and medicated and fed him. With a faint and sad smile on his lips he was really looking forward to seeing Gilbert again.

And he would have made plans first by then…

.-._.-._.-._.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chaos herself's note:_

_Since I know now, my friend in Japan is alright, I'm really relieved. :) So, I could type away at chapter seven without worrying much._

_..._

He had had the dreadful dream thrice again in the meantime. And every time Gilbert was not around he could hardly recover: the darkness was more intense, the angst and helplessness got worse, they crept further and further under his skin. And there was this horrible impression, that he was even more isolated and lonely since his only friend here was absent.

He was still mute. The doctors and nurses were just neglecting him, everything was quick-quick, on-off, no proper attention, just sedating him, nothing personal, nothing-…nothing that felt real to him.

When he couldn't ignore the pain anymore, he grew impatient: what took Gilbert so long? Didn't he know, he was suffering and waiting for him? He wanted to ask for him. But he was mute. And it was frustrating him even more.

When he was watching another intensive care patient being ushered past his room, suddenly he was struck by the thought: this indeed was a hospital. So of course, Gilbert had to be a patient, too. He didn't know, why Gilbert was hospitalized, but his health might have got worse so he wasn't able to pay him visits anymore… Now he began to worry deeply.

Even more he wanted to inquire someone about the red eyed man. But he was mute. Then he wanted to go look for him. But he couldn't move. So he wanted to be taken there - even in a wheelchair, if he had to. But he was still mute, he couldn't articulate his desire.

So he stayed alone and isolated. His vicious circle of despair had trapped him again, he realized as he was close to tears once more.

He didn't want to loose Gilbert, although they just had met. He didn't want to be left alone. At last, he prayed to God, that his friend was alright and they would see each other soon again!

.-._.-._.-._.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chaos herself's note:_

_Here's chapter eight already! I'be been kind of in the flow updating twice today, I guess. :)_

_Yet, there is one thing bothering me: do you even like what I'm doing here? Is it worth continuing? I really wish, there was some tiny feedback at least, so I would know, if it was 'hot or not'... :/_

_..._

"Oi. How have you been? Guess what! I have awesome news…"

Two more dreams and he finally saw Gilbert again! He was so relieved, that he somehow gathered the strength to hug him for real this time. "Hey, hey! I know, I'm awesome, everyone should be thankful to catch a glimpse of me, and you are so supposed to miss me, but-…come on! Get a hold of yourself, comrade!", the silver blonde laughed next to his ear, but still he shortly returned the gesture.

He had had so many questions, he wanted to ask - if he only were able to -, but for now it was enough to know, his friend was safely here with him. "About last time…", Gilbert began then and they made eye contact. "I promised to take you out of here, so you could meet Hyoko…and so I will: I'll carry you piggyback and we'll sneak out together to have some fun", his friend solemnly announced and he nodded happily.

That was a fantastic plan, indeed. It was almost as good as his own plan, which of course he had had first - so that he clearly had won the bet! But since he couldn't explain anything verbally anyways, they might as well go with Gilbert's excellent idea…

So Gilbert knelt down, while he was using all of his strength to creep and move his acing body off the bed and onto Gilbert's back. At first, he thought, he was too heavy and he'd fall off, and therefore he hugged him very tightly. But as soon as Gilbert stood, he was holding him stable and strong, so he gained more confidence. "Ok, let's go!", the silver blonde smirked an adventurous grin.

"But we have to keep quiet, so we don't get caught…", he whispered as they peeked through the door and then quickly hurried through the floor, while Gilbert tried to tiptoe as much as he could with his load and to avoid any suspicious noise. During this 'stealth mission' his heart pounded hard with excitement and he already enjoyed himself greatly. He didn't want to let go off by any chance! The tension was great, as they secretly crawled past the nurse's room towards the stairs – with him still on piggyback - and he didn't dare take one single breath, unless they safely passed the doors and were on their way downstairs.

At the entrance, there was another hindrance: almost they were caught by the guard at the reception. But they just stayed crouched behind a pillar and when the guard was occupied elsewhere, Gilbert ran out of the building with him almost dangling at his back and clutching his shirt tightly. Laughing and out of breath they reached the park. "See? Wasn't that awesome! We did it, we did it!", the silver blonde erupted between gasps for air and walked at a slower pace.

It felt great having succeeded: Their reward was some fresh air, the beautiful view of the park and a warm welcoming caress of sunbeams – and most of all the big blue sky, he could share with his friend!

"Feels great, doesn't it? Let's go over there!", Gilbert decided and carried him towards a big tree, where they both laid down on the grass. For quite a while they just were silently relaxing, taking deep heartfelt breaths, listening to the sound of leaves in the wind and gazing at the cloudless blue sky. The pain was still there, it always was, but now he couldn't care less. He was happy, just plain happy.

"What an awesome feeling! Seems as if you were soaked right into the sky and you could melt into the infinite blue and be a part of it…", Gilbert stated from somewhere beside him. He smiled in agreement, still hypnotized by the view. "You feel so much alive seeing that! That's why you should enjoy those beautiful things…you don't know, what might happen next", continued the calm voice in his ears. He knew, he would treasure this experience even more, because he shared it with the silver blonde man. He couldn't quite put the finger on it, though, but he was sure, there was something special and intense to it, which deepened their friendship. Maybe it was some kind of fate…

"That's something my little brother still has to learn…I'll tell him again, someday, the next time he visits…", Gilbert mumbled on, then turned around to bend over and come into his view of the sky. "I wanted to introduce you to Hyoko, remember?", the red eyed man grinned.

So he was lifted up into a sitting position with Gilbert supporting his terribly aching back. "Look over there, the little yellow bird…that's my Hyoko", presented Gilbert proudly and pointed towards a chick pecking on the nearby ground. "Come over here, say hello to my dear comrade, Hyoko…", he lured the yellow fur ball with a soft voice and an open hand to sit on. He was silently happy to hear these words, but only kept watching the chirping and pecking chick. It cautiously hopped closer, but then suddenly flew away. "Aww. Too bad! Maybe next time, then…Hyoko is just too shy today…", was the red eyed obviously disappointed, but he himself didn't mind. He had fun being with Gilbert and that was enough.

"I know, let's come here again. We still could get the water bombs ready…", the silver blonde thought out loud, which made them both grin conspiringly. Yet he simply leaned back against Gilbert: today's adventures had exhausted him very much, despite he had enjoyed them. "I got it. You stay here and watch that awesome blue sky a bit longer, and in the meantime I'll go get us something to drink…", was the proposal and he smiled with an agreeing nod.

How long had it been since he last drank a refreshing ice cold coke?

So Gilbert stood up and went back to the buildings, while he could take another look at the zenith and let himself be absorbed in blue, until he felt a disturbing patting on his shoulders. Blinking he was quite disappointed not to see Gilbert's grinning face but the displeased grimace of the nurse in charge of him. "Where have you been? We've been looking for you everywhere, Mr. Jones. In your condition, you mustn't leave the room! I wonder how you could even have managed to come here…", she nagged while dragging him to his feet and bringing him back to that room. Confused he took a look around. Gilbert was gone.

Perhaps the silver blonde was luckier than he was... It was a pity, he couldn't have his coke now! At least they had had their little freedom together, that day.

.-._.-._.-._.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chaos herself's note:_

_What a drag! . The random formatting change problem kept me worrying... I really wonder what caused it, for everything seems fine now. Still, I changed my writing program for chapter 9 just in case... ô.o_

_Please leave a note, if you encounter any more problems, though, or else I won't know. Thanks a lot!_

_So, finally, let's get back to plot, shall we?_

_..._

_Annotation: _

_During this chapter, Gilbert quotes the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926). _

_I think, the context of the quota makes clear, what is meant. If you still wish for translation, feel free to ask me, anytime. ^^  
_

_..._

"You seem tired today. Didn't get any sleep tonight?", Gilbert grinned wiggling with his eyebrows and nudging his side. He smiled weakly and shook his head. Then he leaned groggily back and was just glad, that his friend tried to cheer him up.

He had just awakened from another nightmare and the fear was still slightly chilling his bones. The horror of the obscure scenery seemed to get more intense every time he dreamt, more credible and terrifyingly realistic.

As if it wasn't just a dream but dreadful memories.

He wasn't quite sure, but he had had the impression, that he was not crying for anybody's help but for a special person then. He didn't remember, whose name he had been screaming. However he had a vague feeling that he might have been calling for Gilbert…

"Let's go out today, too! The weather is just awesome and I've got plenty of balloons with me. I think, I saw a hose on my way to the vending machines last time…", was the silver blonde still sticking to his water bomb plan, and he was glad for any distraction. Moreover he was pretty exited to play a trick on the nurses. So Gilbert carried him piggyback again and they sneaked out into the park. Luckily, they didn't get caught this time either.

Sitting down in front of the nurses' room they prepared their ammunition. "It's a good thing, we could do this today. Lying in bed all day with no one to talk to is just so plain boring lonely. That's why having a friend is so awesome", the red eyed man said while he was tying a knot into a little blue balloon filled with water.

"Some German author said: _Darin besteht die Liebe: Dass sich zwei Einsame beschützen und berühren und miteinander reden._ I know you'll understand this feeling, the importance of friendship, right now", Gilbert continued and made a reassuring eye contact. He felt himself smile, but he missed the chance to reply properly.

For Gilbert wanted to try out the water bombs now. "Ok, here I go!", he shouted with a grin, stood up and threw the blue balloon in his hand. The balloon flew a straight line and right through an open window on the second floor where it exploded with a soft splashing sound.

"Yeah! Awesome shot! Nothing less expected from the awesome me", Gilbert cheered. He grinned happily and grabbed his own balloon, a red one, and put all his strength in this blow.

The red water bomb only hit the lower edge of the same window, but nonetheless it exploded and the water splashed widely into the room. A squeak announced a now wet person inside. The silver blonde chuckled and applauded: "Bull's-eye! You got them good! My turn, then…"

And with this another three wet surprises clashed into the nurses' room and probably made a great mess. It was his turn again, when his friend said: "Aww, crap! We're almost out of ammunition… well, let's prepare some more, shall we? I'll go fetch some water then." He nodded. It was so much fun and he didn't want it to end so quickly. So Gilbert hurried back to were he had found the hose.

In the meantime he was playing with the last balloon in his hand, weighing its liquid content, throwing it slightly in the air and catching it again afterwards. He wanted to wait with the next attack until Gilbert would be back…

But the counterattack was faster than his friend: a horde of three angry and wet nurses came stomping towards him and he had no possibility to retreat. "Unbelievable! Mr. Jones! What are you doing? Your behaviour is insufferable! You ought to stay in bed instead of playing childish games", they shouted while dragging him back to his room.

He pouted. What could he have said anyways – he was caught red handed. He wished he would have been able to run and hide with Gilbert.

.-._.-._.-._.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chaos herself's note:_

_Finally, I'm back online. Yay! :D To make up for the time, I was unable to connect to the internet, I'm adding two chapters to this story. _

_So here we go with part 1/2 for today... Enjoy! :3_

_..._

He missed Gilbert. He hadn't seen him since the 'water bombs incident'. And that happened last week.

Three days ago his big brother had found him here and had been staying by his side ever since. And he was bored, because, with the old geezer around, his friend didn't show up. He himself would have run away, too, if he could! He was fed up with all that preaching: it reminded him of the pain in his body and he felt much more exhausted than before.

The medication was a real drag, too. At least he wasn't alone with his brother sitting next to him. But he couldn't stop him from nagging– even though he knew, this was Arthur's way of caring for him. He was mute after all.

And it just didn't feel the same: he wanted comfort and soothing and distraction and having fun… He wanted a friend around.

He missed Gilbert. Especially today, when he was so terribly nervous since he would have an important operation on him soon. If it went well, he probably would be able to rehabilitate his voice and legs again after that. That was big news.

His brother would pay the operation fee, the doctor said, so he wouldn't have to worry about that, either. But still he was nervous and he wanted to at least see his friend before they gave him the narcotics.

So he waited impatiently for Gilbert to arrive before the time had come. If only he would hurry up more…

.-._.-._.-._.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chaos herself's note:_

_Part 2/2 of today's update. Also, quite short, I know... Have fun nontheless. :)  
_

_..._

The operation had been a success, Arthur told him. Despite of that fact he didn't quite feel like it. There were too much pain and exhaustion, so he had slept for two days in a row.

After that, his big brother took him along to stay with him. He should start with rehabilitation gymnastics as soon as possible and a voice trainer would work with him, too. The efforts would be great and painful hard work, but he wanted to talk and walk again quickly.

He wanted to show Gilbert.

He wanted to go visit his friend, have a nice chat, go to the park and joke around….something like that.

The nightmare kept coming then and there, and by now he was sure, he had in fact been calling for Gilbert in the dark. So he figured, he could only calm down properly afterwards with the silver blonde man around, his relative wasn't enough. He needed his family, but it wasn't enough. Arthur wasn't enough.

There was still something missing that could only be filled in by a friend.

And this friend was Gilbert. He understood now, this was exactly the meaning of what the German had told him that day. That's why he intended to recover quickly and return.

.-._.-._.-._.


	12. Chapter 12

_Chaos herself's note:_

_Wow! I'm really happy, you are so supportive, I can hardly keep a 360°-grin off my face. ^_^_

_I understand, many of you are craving for some Athur-Alfred action, but! Remember, this is a Gilbert & Alfred story, even an Alfred-centric one... _

_Hopefully, you don't mind much, for there are some new developments in this chapter, which'll give the plot more drive. ^^;_

_..._

He did it!

Two weeks had passed by now, two horribly painful and stressing weeks full of recovery work and training and struggling and frustration and nightmares. And yet one day he did it! He succeeded!

The first time he managed only a terrible dry and hoarse croak that hurt like thousand needles and razor blades in his sore throat. But still he forced some noise out of himself.

The joy he felt was quite incredible. He wanted to hug the whole world!

He gained his voice back!

After that, the pain caused by the training became insignificant to him: he tried and practiced and tried again and practiced some more. Faint shouts and raspy cries were soon replaced by words and short sentences, later he was able to speak more and more fluently, he needed less and less breaks to recover.

He gained his voice back!

He was not mute anymore. He felt like a hero who had fought the cruellest villain and now saved the whole world. Already Arthur complained about him talking too much, but he didn't pay much attention to that. He had to make up for every unspoken word so far, he felt: he had so much to say and it was incredibly great to have left the prison of his isolated island.

However, his body needed more time to recover. His legs were still not working well and the slow improvement here made him impatient again.

Nevertheless he was even more determined to recover fast: he had succeeded with his voice, so he could convince his legs of walking, too! He couldn't wait to see Gilbert and surprise him with his good news.

.-._.-._.-._.


	13. Chapter 13

_Chaos herself's note:_

_Hi, there! ^^_

_If you experience some kind of déjà-vu in this chapter, you're not entirely mistaken: be as it may, I'm not as lazy as I seem to be, since there is a meaning behind this repetetive scene. _

_The allusions are becoming more and more concrete by now, as we are heading fast for the final chapter (the next but one) of this story. Perhaps you are already able to guess, what I'm getting at? ^.~_

_..._

The night before he was going to visit Gilbert in hospital, of course he had that nightmare again. Yet, it seemed different to him.

He was still running in the darkness. His lungs were aching for air, his feet burning, his whole body was exhausted and heavy and he didn't know where he was heading. But he kept on running as if not only his own life was depending on it.

There was nobody chasing him to be sensed coming from behind.

There was something lurking in the darkness nonetheless, something dreadful, but it wasn't after him.

He tried running faster, stumbled disorientedly over his numb feet, fell on the wet asphalt, hurt, tasted blood and mud, got up, and ran further on his way to somewhere, nowhere. He shouted, but Gilbert didn't answer.

The darkness swallowed everything. There was no escape from what was lurking in the dark.

He knew that unconsciously. But still he ran. Out of the darkness, into the darkness. He was the hero after all, he had to save his friend!

He screamed Gilbert's name. And he ran. He was panicking. He had to find Gilbert before it was too late. Only fear made his body move.

When suddenly the thunderous pain struck him, he was caught and blinded like deer in the spotlight.

Everything went blank.

.-._.-._.-._.


	14. Chapter 14

_Chaos herself's note:_

_So, this is the last but one chapter. Still short, still preparation, still nice and warm... :)_

_Look forward to the final! It's coming up soon, promise.  
_

_..._

It was more than a month ago that they met each other for the last time. But he had thought about his friend every single day. How eager he was to show Gilbert how great he had recovered! How much he had to tell him...

He couldn't distress enough, that he missed him so badly, regardless of how annoyed Arthur already was with the topic. It meant way too much to him!

Finally, the day had come, when he returned to the very clinic, where their friendship had begun and where he would still find the silverblonde man, hopefully. It really was due time, he payed his dear friend back cheering him up the way Gilbert had been there for him, he figured.

Would Gilbert be surprised to see him after such a long time?

He hoped so!

Excited and full of joy, he sauntered through the sterile floors catching a glimpse of the park downstairs, where the both of them had shared precious moments of carefree time. The mere memory of those days spread an even broader smile on his lips. So he hurried on, rather randomly searching the room, Gilbert was accommodated in.

Soon after troubling nearly every patient, he realised: he didn't know his friend's surname and apparently, neither the nurses nor the doctors nor the other patients seemed to know the red eyed German. That left him puzzled, but then he concluded: Gilbert had to be staying at a different floor!

Thus, he scuffed back to the nurses' room as fast as he could, slightly limping and huffing due to exhaust.

.-._.-._.-._.


	15. Chapter 15

_Chaos herself's note:_

_The final chapter is here! Beautiful Things is completed! :D_

_The story editing errors on this site are overcome, I'm so happy!  
_

_Finally, it's come to this point, and I'm grateful to those, who have accompanied me in the progress of writing this piece. _

_As the plot unfolded, a couple of questions have piled up until the culminating point you'll find in this chapter: some will be answered, others won't... (unless I feel like doing a sequel.)  
_

_It's been quite interesting, somewhat challenging work, as I'm not that accustomed to cuddly, happy-go-lucky scenes... so I couldn't help it turning this one into a (not entirely!) sad open end. ^^; _

_Nontheless, the message stays the same: _

_Friendship is something really awesome and most important to everyone! So, go tell your friends you love them more, while you still can! ^.^  
_

_Have fun with the outcoming of this story,_

_Chaos  
_

_..._

_Warning: (partly) sad end, character death  
_

_..._

Surely, they still remembered him from the water bomb mission. However it took quite some time explaining and describing repetedly, until they identified his accomplice as Gilbert Weilschmidt and found out he was in room number CO-115, four floors below his former one.

A bit irritated he shook his head: how could they not notice, nay, even forget such a sparkling personality as Gilbert's and shoot him these strange looks?

For his friend and him were almost on equal terms of awesomeness!

He had even cared to climb the stairs every time to come see him, when he had not been able to move an inch! How far Gilbert had travelled to meet up with him, he only realized when descending to the first floor at the basement of the clinic.

Slightly wheezing, but grinning from ear to ear with anticipation, he scurried through the gloomy floor, counting the room numbers on the left hand side: CO-105, CO-107...

He was almost there!

His heartbeat was drumming wildly with excitement, his thoughts already occupied with how to greet Gilbert properly, so he nearly bumped into three men leaving the very room, he had been looking for, altough one of them was crying violently holding onto the absent-mindedly staring one.

A bit surprised he blinked at the tall blonde right in front of him, wondering happily: "Oh, you're also visiting Gilbert?" The man seemed a bit taken aback mumbling sullenly: "You know...my brother?"

He still smiled, enlightment striking him: "Why, yes! Gilbert is my close friend. You must be the little brother, he spoke of so fondly during his visits, when I was still a patient here a couple of weeks ago. Nice to meet you! I'm Alfred Jones. I bet, Gilbert's already told you about me..."

The three men exchanged confused looks, then the blonde spoke again. "No, he didn't. He couldn't possibly...Gilbert, he-... you sure, it is he who visited you?", the though man struggled for composure and words.

Now, it was him to look quizzically at the strange trio.

"Of course, it was him! We've been tricking the nurses, sneaking into the park playing pranks, or talking about essential things like the sky and freedom and friendship, how he loved beer and sausages...he also showed me his chick, you know, Hyoko", he exclaimed quickly. The blackhaired man averted his eyes sadly, while the brunette was bursting into another howling torrent of tears, and Gilbert's brother simply shook his head.

"This can't be true! The car accident-... My brother has been in coma for more than ten years... And today we finally unplugged him", he tried fighting the tears himself, stiffling a silent sob with his big hand bravely, "but how-...you know all these details about him. How's that possible?" As the crutial words rained down on him, he couldn't quite comprehend, much less accept. He was in shock!

It felt, as if he was struck by thunder and the darkness swallowed him. "No! It's a lie! Gilbert!", he cried out in denial, violently shoved the men out of the way and stumbled into the room, staring at the lifedrained form of a once so proud and lively man on the bed, grotesquely surrounded by mashines.

"This can't be-...Gilbert! Gilbert! Not you, no! ...just, when we're finally able to meet again", his voice started to shake, as he instantly saw his nightmare come true: he was too late, the silverhaired one was already dead. The loss of his one true friend hit him hard, agony rippled through his whole body, but he did not cry a single tear.

He couldn't: Gilbert had taught him otherwise. So he smiled.

For his friend had also taught him to enjoy and esteem highly all thos little beautiful things in life. Such as the memories they had shared. And he quietly promised, he would always hold their few encounters dear!

For he understood, he had witnessed a real miracle: their souls had been able to meet and found a deep everlasting friendship despite the circumstances of their bodies.

They had been connected somehow.

Therefore, even if Gilbert was dead, his beloved friend would always be with him, giving him strength to share this wisdom, this treasure to life.

As he left the room, he remembered Gilbert's words about friendship, finally able to understand them completely, and whispered his goodbye to the corpse of the deceased:

"Love you, too, my friend!"


End file.
